Wife and children join Quinn in court action

BUSINESSMAN Sean Quinn has been joined as a third party by his wife and children to the court action in which they allege €2.34 billion loans by Anglo Irish Bank to various Quinn companies are unenforceable because they were issued for the “illegal objective” of supporting the bank’s share price.

Anglo denies the claims but said that if the family succeeds, the bank will seek “relief” against Mr Quinn and two other men who, it claims, were central to the management of the Quinn group and to an alleged strategy to make investments of €750 million to fund contract for difference positions in Anglo prior to the end of 2007.

Anglo claims the three were actively involved in the funding and security transactions that form the factual matrix of the case. It claims they had made statements which they intended the bank to act upon and which they knew to be false or which were made recklessly. These included claims that Quinn family members were willing and able to provide various share pledges and guarantees.

Anglo yesterday applied to have the Quinn Group founder and chairman, with an address at Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, and two others — Dara O’Reilly, chief executive of the Quinn Group (NI) Ltd, of Tullybuck, Co Cavan, and Liam McCaffrey, formerly the Quinn group finance director, of Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh — joined as third parties to the Commercial Court case initiated earlier this year by his wife Patricia Quinn and their five children.

The court action arises from events leading to the family losing control of companies within the Quinn Group.

Yesterday, Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told there was no opposition to Anglo’s application to have the three notice parties joined and made orders as sought.

The judge listed discovery applications for next month.